Side-loading reusable shopping bag

ABSTRACT

A reusable side-loading bag having front, rear, base and two side panels. The bag also includes a pair of handles and a pair of sliding mechanisms. The side-load bag allows for items, for example, food containers to slide in from the side, fit securely, provide ample clearance to stack multiple containers, be carried flat to eliminate the risk or ruining the product.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of the earlier filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/893,303 filed on Oct. 21, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

This application discloses an invention which is related, generally and in various embodiments, to a reusable shopping bag.

The reusable shopping bag has, in recent years, become a standard medium in most all markets and industries. These include retail, hospitality, foodservice, grocery chains, promotions, marketing, apparel, auto and logistics. The reusable shopping bag, is typically made of non-woven polypropylene and variations thereof (laminated polypropylene, woven polypropylene and biodegradable polypropylene). The reusable shopping bag has become popular with both vendors and consumers. This is due to its ecologically friendly impact and its low cost, along with its marketing and visibility. As the advantages of the reusable shopping bags have won over both vendors, the nature of both consumer and vendor behavior has changed. That is, gone are the days of cheap disposable bags and consumers showing up to retail outlets without their own bags. As such the reusable shopping bag will likely retain a strong place in its current markets.

However, the traditional design and construction of the reusable bag fails to meet the needs of some markets. That is, it has been designed for maximum efficiency in retail markets and fails to meet the needs of consumers and vendors in the foodservice industry and other markets. The reusable bags were designed to be a top loading bag. Meaning, the opening is at the bag's top and items are slid or dropped into that opening. For retailers, this makes putting a sweater or pants easy to drop in and maximize on time and ease of use. However, for the foodservice industry and other markets this poses a serious, frustrating and often costly problem.

In the food service industry, for example, food purveyors rely on industry standard size take out and packaging containers for their food. These containers are often delicate as restaurants, caterers, bakeries, delis, etc. do not want food items to spill, slide or drop. For the top load reusable bag this poses a problem. Bags need to be made to fit the food containers securely and often there are multiple containers in one order. This requires a tall bag with little clearance for loading. So, with little to no hand room to load trays into a bag it becomes an act of angling and balancing, both for the employee loading the bag and the consumer removes the product. This means, having to tip and slide the food items, thus, potentially ruining a costly purchase, or messing up an order costing overhead and potentially lose a customer. The need for a reusable bag designed to overcome these problems is not limited to the food service industry but other markets as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an unassembled template view of a side-load, reusable shopping bag according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a non-insulated, side-load, reusable shopping bag;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 2 with handles closing top of bag;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 2 with handles pulled from front of bag securing open side;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 2 with handles pulled with loops lying flat;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 2 with handles in use securing trays;

FIG. 7 shows an upright, perspective view of an insulated, zipper-top, upright, top-load reusable shopping bag;

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 7 with handles closing top of bag;

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 7 flat front face up with handles pulled closed; and

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 7 upright with handles pulled tight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that at least some of the figures and descriptions of the invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements that those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate may also comprise a portion of the invention. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the invention, a description of such elements is not provided herein. For purposes of description, the panels of embodiments of the bag have been designated as front, rear, side and base. It should be understood that these descriptions are not intended to be limiting as the bag may be oriented, for example, such that the base panel is oriented on the side of the bag, or such that the rear panel faces the front of the bag.

As shown in FIGS. 1-10, embodiments of the invention provide a solution to the frustrating and costly problems discussed above by providing an unconventionally designed reusable shopping bag. With reference to FIGS. 1-6, a non-insulated bag according to embodiments of the invention is depicted and generally designated with the reference numeral 10. FIG. 1 shows an unassembled template of bag 10 in which dotted-lines depict sew lines. Bag 10 includes a front panel 12, a rear panel 14 opposed to front panel 12, a base panel 16, and first and second opposed side gussets or panels 18, 20. The panels 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 are joined together to form a bag defining an internal storage compartment or space 22 having an opening 24 opposite the base panel 16. According to one aspect of embodiments of the invention, bag 10 includes two elongated handles 26. Each handle 26 is attached at a first attachment portion 28 to rear panel 14 and at a second attachment portion 30 to front panel 12. First attachment portion 28 is disposed on the rear panel 14 in a first portion 32 of bag 10 near opening 24, while second attachment portion 30 is disposed on front panel 12 in a second portion 34 of bag 10. Each handle 26 is fixedly attached to first and second attachments portions 28, 30 by, for example, sewing. A sliding mechanism 36 corresponding to each of the handles 26 is disposed on front panel 12 in first portion 32 of bag 10 near opening 24. In the illustrated embodiments, each sliding mechanism 36 is a loop of fabric secured at each end to front panel 12. Each handle 26 is slidingly received between sliding mechanism 36 and front panel 12. The sliding mechanisms 36 allow the handles 26 to move between multiple positions. In a first position (FIG. 2), a first portion 38 of each handle 26 between sliding mechanism 36 and first attachment portion 30 on rear panel 14 is fully extended and allows access to opening 24. In a second position (FIG. 3), second portion 40 of each handle 26 between sliding mechanism 36 and first attachment portion 30 is partially extended, thus, causing first portions 38 to partially close opening 24. In a third position (FIG. 4), a second portion 40 of each handle 26 between sliding mechanism 36 and the second attachment portion 30 on front panel 12 are fully extended outwardly, thus causing first portions 38 to partially close the opening. In a fourth position (FIG. 5), second portions 40 of each handle 26 are fully extended downwardly, thus causing the first portions 38 to partially close opening 24. In a fifth position (FIG. 6), second portions 40 of each handle 26 are fully extended and crossed with each other securing opening 24 securing items 42, such as food trays, while allowing the items 42 to comfortably be carried flat. When the first and second handles 26 are in the first position shown in FIG. 2, bag 10 may be operable as a top-loading bag, or the bag 10 may be positioned to be a side-loading bag so that the rear panel 14 is on the bottom of the bag 10 and items 42 may be loaded into the bag 10, and when the first and second handles 26 are extended (FIGS, 4-6), the bag 10 may be carried as a side-loading bag 10 with the rear panel 14 on the bottom of the bag 10. Once a user is done using bag 10 in the side-loaded position, the handles 26 are returned to the position of FIG. 2 and base panel 14 returned to the bottom of the bag making it usable as a traditional shopping bag. Alternatively, the bag 10 is in the top load position it may also be used as a duffle bag style over the hack. This allows it to be reused as both foodservice and retail item meeting the needs of both markets and capitalizing on marketing value.

According to one aspect of embodiments of the invention, the dimensions of front and rear panels 12, 14 may be 15 inches by 15 inches. The dimensions of first and second side panels 18, 20 may be 15 inches tall by 7.5 inches wide. Handles 26 may be 38 inches long by 1 inch wide and spaced 6 inches apart. Sliding mechanisms 36 may be 2.2 inches long by 1 inch wide. Each attachment portion 30 is spaced 3.5 inches from base panel 16. Each attachment portion 28 is spaced 2.5 inches from opening 24.

As shown in FIGS. 7-10, embodiments of the invention include an insulated zipper top bag 100 having a handle/sliding mechanism 126, 136 configuration as discussed above. Opening 124 may be closed by a closeable top panel 144 which, for example, may be removeably attachable to the front panel 112, rear panel 114, and first and second side panels 118, 120 by, for example, a zipper 146.

The side-load bag allows for items, for example, food containers to slide in from the side, fit securely, provide ample clearance to stack multiple containers, be carried flat to eliminate the risk or ruining the product. The bag construction can be made from varying reusable material forms. This side-load design can also be made from (but not limited to) laminated non-woven, laminated woven polypropylene, laminated RPET, nylon, canvas and plastic. These other popular forms of reusable material all offer their own specific advantages. That is, one variation may be better for graphics, while one may be more cost effective. Some offer max weight advantages and others recyclability advantages. The advantage of this design, for reusable bags, is that any customer/vendor needs may be met with optimal results.

Nothing in the above description is meant to limit the invention to any specific formulation, calculation, or methodology. Many formulation, calculation and methodology substitutions are contemplated within the scope of the invention and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The embodiments described herein were presented by way of example only and should not be used to limit the scope of the invention.

Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments in this application, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of the teachings herein, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of, or exceeding the scope of, the described invention. Accordingly, it is understood that the drawings and the descriptions herein are proffered only to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A bag having a top, bottom and at least one side, the bag comprising: a front panel; a rear panel opposed to the front panel; a first side panel; a second side panel opposed to the first side panel; a base panel connected to the front panel, the rear panel, the first side panel and the second side panel forming a storage compartment having an opening opposed to the base panel; first and second handles, wherein each of said handles is attached at a first end to a first attachment portion on the rear panel, and at a second end to second attachment portion on the front panel; first and second sliding mechanisms corresponding to each of the first and second handles, wherein the first and second sliding mechanisms are attached to the front panel and wherein each of the first and second sliding mechanisms slidingly receives one of the first and second handles, wherein each of said first and second handles is moveable between a first position in which a first portion of each of the first and second handles between the first attachment portion and the corresponding one of the first and second sliding mechanism is fully extended, and a second position in which a second portion of each of the first and second handles between the second attachment portion and the corresponding one of the first and second sliding mechanism is fully extended, wherein when the first and second handles are in the first position the bag is operable as a top-loading bag with the base panel on the bottom of the bag, and when the first and second handles are in the second position the bag is operable as a side-loading bag with the rear panel on the bottom of the bag.
 2. The bag of claim 1, further comprising a closeable top panel disposed at the opening.
 3. The bag of claim 2, further comprising a zipper for securing the closeable top panel.
 4. The bag of claim 3, wherein the bag is insulated.
 5. The bag of claim 1, wherein the bag comprises a material selected from laminated non-woven, laminated woven polypropylene, laminated RPET, nylon, canvas and plastic.
 6. The bag of claim 1, wherein when the first and second handles are in the second position, the first and second handles are crossable with each other. 